Crime & Safety

Former Temecula Attorney Convicted Of Stealing From Client Trust

As a result of his conviction, Edward J. Nowakoski cannot practice law of any type or reapply to the bar during his three-year probation.

Nowakoski was also convicted of embezzling from the Southwest Riverside County Bar Association.
Nowakoski was also convicted of embezzling from the Southwest Riverside County Bar Association. (Shutterstock)

TEMECULA, CA — A now-disbarred Temecula attorney has been sentenced to three years of probation following his guilty plea Friday to two felony counts of grand theft.

According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Edward J. Nowakoski, 69, previously worked as a trusts and estates attorney and served as treasurer of the Southwest Riverside County Bar Association. His schemes unraveled when he was unable to justify why he had not made the required distributions in a client probate case.

According to the D.A.'s office, Nowakoski was appointed as trustee of a client's estate, but when the client died in 2016 the now-disgraced attorney transferred a significant portion of the estate funds to his own accounts instead of disbursing the assets to the client’s family as directed in the trust, according to the D.A.'s office.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

From 2016 to 2018, Nowakoski used the stolen funds for personal expenditures, including bills and tuition for someone else, the D.A.'s office alleged.

He was subsequently disbarred. When the Southwest Riverside County Bar Association got wind of it, the nonprofit discovered Nowakoski had been embezzling funds from its accounts, according to the D.A.'s office. Nowakoski had been the long-time treasurer for the association, where he oversaw membership dues and fees associated with networking events, and had sole control over its accounts, the D.A.'s office reported.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As part of a plea agreement with the D.A.’s office, Nowakoski agreed to pay restitution — plus
interest — to the victims. At the time of Friday's plea, he paid a total of $562,854 in victim restitution, according to the D.A.'s office.

As a result of his conviction, Nowakoski cannot practice law of any type or reapply to the bar during his probation.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.